


The House in the Eye of the Storm

by LettersByTheLake



Series: Artist Appreciation [2]
Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Warriors family fic, mainly fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27206530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LettersByTheLake/pseuds/LettersByTheLake
Summary: Warriors is feeling homesick and the others show him he has a family even when he is worlds away from his own.
Relationships: Four & Warriors (Linked Universe), Legend & Warriors (Linked Universe), Warriors & Wind (Linked Universe)
Series: Artist Appreciation [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986214
Comments: 12
Kudos: 97





	The House in the Eye of the Storm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Violett_Shadow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violett_Shadow/gifts).



> This is a fic done in appreciation for [this](https://violett-shadow.tumblr.com/post/626441613114228736/cheer-up-buttercup-request) amazing piece of art by Vio. I really suggest checking out their Tumblr because their art is BEAUTIFUL.

Wind loves adventures. He always has, ever since he could crawl he was exploring the nooks and crannies of his little house by the sea, and then when he could walk and open doors there was no hope of keeping him inside. Life was full of mysteries and new things to discover, and there was no holding him back from discovering them.

His Grandma used to call him a curious child, and she’s right in a way. He still chases that incomparable feeling of finding out something he never knew before, of seeing something he never previously realised existed. The way his whole view of the world shifts slightly to make that little bit more sense, another puzzle piece slotting into place.

The adventure he’s on now with eight other heroes from different times and maybe different realities has him positively reeling, his thirst for that something new has never been so sated. So, he loves it, he loves them, he’s having a great time for the most part, except for the fact that he _really_ misses home.

He tries to hide it, he’s well aware of the fact he’s the youngest in their troop and has worked hard to ensure the others treat him as an equal and not as a clueless child. So he doesn’t want something as silly as homesickness coming into the mix and ruining it all.

Nevertheless, there’s always that nagging feeling at the back of his mind that something just isn’t quite right. A feeling that stops him from enjoying the amazing new places they travel to or the ever-growing friendships he shares with his companions.

He talks to them about Aryll a lot which actually helps. Having her on his mind and letting the others know that she is surely the best sister he could ever hope for makes her seem more present, more real, and less like Grandma and Aryll and their house on the island are a distant memory.

So he talks about her. And talks and talks until he’s not entirely sure that the fond looks his companions give him aren’t actually a little bit forced now. But talk on he does nonetheless because it’s something of a habit now.

Warriors is a saving grace, honestly. He’s always wanted a big brother and Warriors is about as perfect a big brother as you could imagine. He has that perfect balance of supportive and teasing so he makes him feel accomplished and also like everything’s going to be ok.

He wonders if Warriors has always wanted a little brother too.

He asks him once and the captain smiles surprisedly.

“I already have one, back home.”

And Wind stares at him, suddenly aware that Warriors has never even mentioned a family before, and he’s never thought to ask. Warriors seems to take his silence the wrong way though because his smile falters.

“I do see you as a little brother too though, you know that right?”

“Yeah!” he exclaims quickly, “it’s just… you must really miss him.”

“Of course,” he says sort of wistfully with a look in his eye that Wind has never seen before but imagines adorns his face more than he thinks when he isn’t looking.

“You know what it’s like, I think about him and my parents all the time. I was missing them long before I came on this adventure though.”

Wind tilts his head in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I was in the army,” he says simply, like that is an answer. Wind frowns and starts to ask him more but unfortunately that’s when Time calls out that their pit stop is over, and they still have a full afternoon of travelling before they reach the next village. Warriors gives him a smile which is all hidden sadness and leaves him to go and tell Time something that probably has to do with tactics.

Sky asks him what’s wrong a bit later.

“Warriors was in the army,” he replies quietly, and Sky looks at him in confusion.

“Yes, he was,” he says, but he doesn’t understand.

Because, while he knows Warriors was in the army, Wind hasn’t really thought about what that meant. For him his incentive has always been to look after his family, and that had been the whole reason he got sucked into his first adventure in the first place. He hasn’t thought about what Warriors must have left behind and sacrificed to become the hero he is today.

He wonders if he ever regrets it.

  


  


(Warriors dreams of a time he has all but forgotten, when life was simpler, and the future was distant and hopeful and full of unexplored wonders. When the war was but a story told by heroes. A distant goal he worked towards as his father taught him how to fight with a wooden sword in their small garden with the shed and the big oak tree.

He dreams of his father telling him he’ll be the greatest hero of all and he’s vaguely aware that the man doesn’t know exactly what that means until he’s saying goodbye to his son who could now beat him in a swordfight with a sword made of metal and sharp edges. Vaguely aware that the years move faster than anyone fathoms and that children playing with wooden swords in their gardens don’t stay that way.)

  


  


Four is a very observant person. After all, he has four different opinions and onlookers in his head, so it’s rare that he misses anything. He’s sort of claimed the position of secret-keeper within the party. He knows about Wolfie, and more than most about Time’s past and Legend has even confided in him a couple of times about his lost love across the ocean.

But there’s someone else he notices that, well, notices. Because for all Warriors’ claims of vanity and self-assuredness, Four is always amazed at the way he knows exactly what to say to make the others feel better when they’re down.

He doesn’t think the others necessarily comprehend how much Warriors keeps up the morale. Whenever someone is sad or having an off day, he’s there with a boost of confidence or a pep talk or a bad joke. He’s subtle about it, doesn’t give big speeches like Time or give hugs like Sky or the listening ear that Twilight does. Instead he adorns his face with his infectious smile, even when there is nothing left to smile about. he doesn’t demand attention for his kindness, he does it sincerely, simply because he likes seeing people happy.

It’s because of this that on the odd day that Warriors is in an off mood, it means that everyone is miserable, but no one can really put their finger on why.

One of these days, they are staying at an inn in a village. A fact that _should_ put them all in a relatively good mood because it’s not every day that they get to sleep in actual beds rather than on the hard, bumpy ground.

The village is small and homey with thatched cottages and a tight community of residents who all seem overly friendly and welcoming. Wind and Warriors decide to explore a little and Four decides to join them, mainly out of boredom and a little out of curiosity because apparently there’s a village library that Vio is _very_ interested in.

They stop by the clothing store where Warriors buys new boots that are way more money than Four would ever spend but seems to make him happy. They get some food from the grocery shop which is run by a very talkative and friendly old woman who sneaks Wind a piece of apple pie that her husband made. And as promised, they start to make their way over to the library which is the biggest building in the village and has two turrets which Vio imagines excitedly is _full_ of books.

On the way, Four smiles at the sight of two children fighting with wooden swords. They’re blonde and have curly hair and must be brothers because they look almost identical except for one being slightly taller. He chuckles at them fondly as he walks past.

“War?” he hears Wind call out and he stops to look back at where Warriors stands still, watching the two children with a wistful expression.

“War, are you coming?” Wind asks a bit louder and that seems to snap him out of whatever stupor he was in.

“Oh, er, sorry. Actually, I’m getting really tired, how about you two go on without me?” He smiles at them and Four supposes he means it to be encouraging, but it comes across more of a grimace.

“You alright?” he asks.

“Yeah, of course, I’m just not really into books,” he replies with a shrug.

“Okay,” says Wind, “we’ll see you back at the Inn then?”

With a nod, they split up. Four gets lost in one of the most amazing libraries he has ever been in and picks out as many books as will fit in his bag while Wind sits in a corner reading about pirates or something. When they get back to the Inn, Four notices immediately that the atmosphere is lacking its usual comradery and his eyes naturally flicker to where Warriors sits huddled in a corner.

He makes his way over to him and sits down next to him on the floor, far enough away to be casual, but close enough that they can easily have a conversation without the others hearing. Warriors gives him a small smile, not nearly as wide as what Four’s used to receiving from the captain.

“The library was great.”

“Oh. That’s good.”

“Wind found a book about pirates and I found one on this Hyrule’s history that looks interesting.”

Warriors nods and averts his eyes.

“Sorry I didn’t come, I just…”

There’s a pause for a while where Warriors stares intently at the floor and Four wonders if he shouldn’t just let him be. But he knows that’s not what Warriors would do if the situation was reversed.

“I know you said you don’t like books, but-“ he rifles around in his bag as Warriors looks up in interest, “I found this one and thought of you.”

He pulls out an old, red and very dogeared book and hands it to him.

“It’s a record of war strategies and battle tactics from the last war that was fought here. I flipped through it and there are actually some really interesting ideas in there and, you know, tactics are kind of your thing so I thought it might be a good distraction from…”

He peters out when Warriors gives him a smile, this one wide and genuine.

“Thanks Four, this is actually… really cool.”

He starts to rifle through the pages with genuine interest and Four lets out a breath of relief. The rest of the evening passes in a calm manner, Warriors keeping to himself, hunched over the book and everyone else performing their own tasks. It’s not the happiest atmosphere, but it’s certainly been worse.

The next morning, Four is pleased to see Warriors is smiling again, and so is everyone else.

  


  


(Warriors dreams of a storm. Rain patters through the branches of Faron Woods where small critters hide in the hollows of great trees. Street urchins look longingly to the lights in the castle windows where the wind howls through the cold stone walls and residents sleep restlessly under piles of blankets that never seem to be enough.

He dreams of a house in the castle village with a thatched roof and a warm hearth fire and a family that are happy and loved. Their responsibilities seemed distant, unable to force their way through the wall of warmth and love they have built through years of hardship and loss.

He dreams of card games of which the eldest son lets his brother win every round, and playful wrestling which their parents try to stop with a smile. There is a warm drink that tastes of comfort and familiarity that the mother makes on stormy nights like these.

He dreams of an underlying sadness that only makes their happiness more significant. They know they are on borrowed time, that it’s not long before the war will once again take the son away to a life of heroes and castles and magical swords and unbeatable monsters.

But, for now, as he dreams, his mind keeps him trapped in that moment.

As he sleeps, he is home.)

  


  


It has been raining the entire day and they have been trudging miserably through Hyrule field, their clothes clinging uncomfortably to their skin. They stopped early when Time declared the rising mud levels too harsh to wade through and set up camp under the canopy of a copse of trees growing on a hill that was reasonably dry under foot.

With Wild’s uncanny ability to start fires in the harshest of weathers and climates, they are all comfortably fed with warm soup which Wind insists isn’t as good as his Grandma’s, but he _“still really likes it!”._

All in all, Legend is having a pretty good evening. He’s chatting with Four and Hyrule and sharing a particularly funny story about Ravio that he distinctly remembers not being funny at the time, and he’s making them laugh. Hyrule’s laugh is big and open and full and Four’s slightly more subdued but no less rewarding.

But there’s something missing. There has been all evening, and everyone knows it, because Warriors usually takes up a lot of room. He’s one of those people who can walk into a room and automatically everyone’s eyes are on him even if he hasn’t done or said anything yet. He has been quiet all day but they all have, and it was just assumed that it was because of the miserable weather. Now, however, he has gone off by himself and Legend is starting to think something else might be on the captain’s mind.

“Anyone know where War went?” he asks the group to which they all shake their heads, murmurs of “no” and “haven’t seen him” rippling through them.

Except Wind who says, “he went over towards the river, I think,” casually, but Legend can see the slight crease of worry on his features and his eyes seem to plead with him a little.

“Well, I’m not going to let him get out of dish duty that easily,” he replies standing up. Time gives him a look that says _be nice,_ but he lets him go into the rain and in the direction of the river down the hill. Ultimately, Time knows when it really comes to it, Legend will be nice if the situation calls for it.

The rain has slowed since the sun started to set, but the sky has darkened leaving the visibility worse than ever. The falling water is more like a heavy mist now, the kind that soaks your clothes and hair in seconds, and it’s not long before Legend is shivering and the hand on his sword is numb. He doesn’t like that Warriors is out here alone. Neither of them know the area and the visibility is so bad he can barely see five feet in front of him. There could be anything lurking in the shadows.

Lightning lights up the sky in a flash. It reflects off the mist but doesn’t reveal anything lying in wait. Thunder follows and, in the darkness, it seems all-consuming.

He is not completely sure where the river is and so he treads carefully to avoid an impromptu swim. He needn’t have bothered however, because the river is fast, and he can hear the rushing water over the rain before he is anywhere near it.

He walks along the bank a bit, leaves crunching underfoot that in the light would be a blanket of fiery oranges and reds.

He doesn’t have to walk long before he comes across the shape of a figure sitting, hunched on a log, facing the river. Warriors clearly hasn’t heard him approach over the roaring water and he knows better than to scare someone who has a sword on their back and has trained half their life for war.

“I’m not sure the rain’s doing much for your hair, pretty boy,” he says. Warriors snaps his head around, hand jumping to his sword immediately. Legend wonders what it would be like not to be in your guard 24/7, to be truly relaxed and comfortable.

_In another life…_

“Oh, it’s just you,” he says. Legend notices that his eyes are slightly red underneath the sopping hair that clings in curls to his temples. He sighs and makes his way to sit on the log next to him, ignoring the unpleasant way the wet bark crumbles under his fingers.

The Links have been travelling together for months now, and Legend has come to see the others as family, not that he would ever admit it. It’s the small things he notices, the way the old man stares down the moon during his night shifts as if it’s to blame for all his heartbreak, or the way Wind talks happily about his sister, hiding the agony of homesickness that seems always at the surface. The way Four fluctuates in emotions as frequently as the wind changes or Twilight’s tell-tale signs of a lost love that seem freakishly similar to his own.

It’s a given that the band of heroes would have their secrets, Goddess knows Legend has those of own that he wouldn’t want shared with the others. They give each other support when wanted and when necessary, but usually they leave each other be.

Now, though, Legend isn’t convinced that’s the right thing to do.

“So… you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

Warriors doesn’t say anything and Legend curses himself for being so goddessdamn awkward because he’s pretty sure that not all the water droplets on his friend’s face are rain.

He’s also aware that this is completely uncharted territory for them because Legend and Warriors are pretty close, as much as they argue and bicker, their friendship is sound. However both of them aren’t exactly the type to have a deep meaningful conversation and share their woes and all that.

“It’s okay,” says Warriors thickly after a while, “you can go, I’m sorry if you were wondering where I was.”

“Yeah, no can do, I’m not about to leave you crying and alone in the dark.”

“I’m not crying,” he replies but there isn’t much feeling behind it.

“Sure.”

Sky or Twilight or Time would know what to say right now.

So Legend just sits and hopes that his company is enough to provide some comfort, even if it’s just so Warriors knows he isn’t alone.

It’s a while before the captain speaks again.

“Do you have family? Back home I mean?”

Legend is surprised. It seems to be something of an unspoken rule that they don’t ask each other anything about their personal lives if the information isn’t freely given.

“I’m sorry, you- you don’t have to answer that.”

“No. I don’t mind. Um, I used to have an uncle, but he died a few years ago. And I have Zelda, and Ravio now… I guess that idiot is the closest thing to family I have.” _Wow, that sounded sad._

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

Legend shrugs because he doesn’t really know what else to do. Thunder rolls in the distance. The storm seems to be getting further away.

“Do you? Have family, I mean?” he asks.

“A brother. And parents. And grandparents, though I’m not sure if they’re still alive. I’m not really sure if any of them are still alive actually, it’s been a while.”

“You miss them.” It’s not a question.

“Yeah. When we were younger, my little brother was really scared of storms, so we used to distract him by playing card games and telling stories. And my mother always made this drink that was made of different berries and spices and she would put candles all over the room. And we had this big window that looked out over the fields where we could watch the storm until it wasn’t scary anymore, just beautiful and I just…”

Warriors whole demeanour seems to falter, his very being flickering before Legend’s eyes.

“It’s just… nothing feels like home anymore. Nowhere I go and nothing I do, I can never get that feeling back and- and I like my life, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished but sometimes I just want to turn back time and feel that again. I’ve never felt so completely safe since and I haven’t seen them for years and I miss them so much sometimes, it’s… it’s exhausting.” He brings his hand up to wipe his eyes and turns his face away.

“I’m sorry,” he continues, “I know I’m lucky to have a family at all and you and the others have been through way worse and-“

“No,” Legend interrupts sharper than he meant to, “that sounds like a really nice memory. I might never have felt like that, but I miss my uncle a lot some days too. And Zelda, and goddess forbid I even miss Ravio sometimes.”

Warriors nods.

“Thanks for understanding.”

“You’ll see them again, too. When this is all over and we get back to our own times and worlds you should go and see them.”

To Legend’s delight, Warriors smiles at that.

“Yeah… yeah, I think I will.”

“Great. Now can we please go back, I am _so_ cold, and you’ve been out here longer so there’s no way you can’t be too.”

“Hmm, not really, I think it’s just your lack of pants,” he says with his familiar joking smirk.

Legends holds back a smile.

“Yeah, yeah, I still have better dress sense than you, scarf-face.”

“Scarf-face? Seriously? I swear you insults get worse every day.”

“Let me be, my ass happens to be freezing off.”

“Fine, let’s go see if Wild has any more of that soup.”

  


  


That night, Legend looks up at the stars and then to Warriors sleeping soundly next to him and starts to come up with a plan.

  


  


(Warriors dreams of the day he goes off to the army. He is excited because it’s new and he’s young and he’s been working towards this for as long as he can remember, and he doesn’t quite comprehend that the goodbyes to his family are the last he’ll see of them for a long time.

He’s wanted to get out of this tiny village for so long he’s forgotten to appreciate it. He says his goodbyes with a smile on his face even when his brother lets out a sniffle and his mother holds back her tears. He smiles at the sad pride on his father’s face and forgets he was the one who inspired him to get to where he is now.

It’s only much, much later that he realises that maybe he should have hugged them all a little longer, held them a little tighter. Only much, much later does he realise he was also saying goodbye to the boy he was then, because he’s different now. He didn’t know, then, that his childhood wasn’t something he could go back to.)

  


  


Warriors is tired, and sad, and cold and he’s curled up in a ball listening to the thunder outside, his mind stuck in times that have passed. They have set up camp in a small house with crumbling walls and rotting floorboards in an abandoned village in a Hyrule he doesn’t know. He stayed behind while the others checked out the rest of the village because he is still recovering from a particularly nasty knife wound he’d got earlier. It had been healed with a potion as quickly as possible, but he had still lost a lot of blood and he feels a bit woozy. Time always insists they always try to stick together at least in pairs, so Sky is with him too.

The rain taps a tune on what’s left of the roof and somewhere in the distance a Wolfos howls. He’s exhausted and the storm reminds him of his family and he really just wants to go to sleep, but Sky sits opposite him and tells a story. His voice is a comforting drone in the background of his thoughts that keep him awake.

“-and then she pushes me off the ledge! And I tried to tell her that my loftwing wasn’t there, but she didn’t listen. So there I am falling to my death and I’m just thinking ‘damn, I should have kissed her when I had a chance,’ when suddenly a loftwing comes out of nowhere and catches me in midair! And my heart is beating really fast and I look around to see who saved me and you will never guess who it is. _Zelda_. She saved my life. She is literally so perfect, I’m so lucky-“

“Sky?”

“Yeah.”

“Where are the others?”

“Er… they told you remember; they’re checking the other houses in the village.”

“They’ve been ages.”

“Huh… I guess they have.”

“We should go and check on them.”

“Ah, no, you see that’s probably a bad idea because we shouldn’t leave our stuff unattended.”

“It’ll be fine, they’ve been way too long, we should definitely see if they’re okay.”

“NO!” Sky shouts as Warriors starts to get up. He sits back down, startled. “I mean, I’m sure they’re fine, we would’ve heard something if they weren’t.”

“Okay… you’re being really weird.”

“I just, er… I don’t like storms,” he says sheepishly, and Warriors would believe him except that he’s never had trouble with storms before and he’s sure he would have noticed if it was so bad he couldn’t even go outside.

“Fine,” he says, looking at him weirdly, “tell me if you need anything.” He retreats back into his head as Sky thanks him and continues talking about his magical land in the clouds. He only snaps back to reality again when Wind and Four burst into the room some time later.

Wind is positively beaming and Four is trying his best to look nonchalant, but his eyes are doing that weird thing where they flicker between colours.

“Hey guys, can we borrow you for a second?” asks Wind breathlessly.

“Sky doesn’t like the storm,” he says, partly out of spite because he’s absolutely sure now there’s something weird going on they aren’t telling him about and Sky doesn’t, in fact, have any problems with storms at all.

“I’ll be fine!” Sky says quickly and moves to get up.

When Warriors tries to leave through the door however, Wind and Four stop him and Wind pulls out a small strip of blue material.

“You have to wear this though,” he says.

“What?”

“It’s a blindfold!” says Four.

“Ok, what in Hylia’s name is going on?” Usually he would always be up for Wind’s shenanigans, but he’s not exactly had the best day and he kind of just wants to carry on sitting alone and thinking sadly about his family.

Sky puts his hand on his shoulder.

“It’s nothing bad, I promise War, you’ll like it.” And then he walks out the door with a comforting smile. Warriors watches him go, slightly betrayed that he would leave him here with Four and Wind and no idea what’s going on.

“Please wear the blindfold War,” Wind says with those huge puppy dog eyes that Wind knows he can’t say no to. He sighs.

“Fine, but this better not be one of Wild’s pranks again.”

“It’s not, we swear,” Four says and pulls Warriors down to Wind’s hight so he can tie the blindfold round his head. They take one arm each and he can positively _feel_ the excitement coming off both of them and it makes him feel a little bit better, a little bit safer. He trusts them.

“You gonna tell me where we’re going?” he asks when they walk across the muddy ground of the village, the rain soaking his hair almost immediately and making his scarf feel itchy on his skin.

“If we were going to tell you, we wouldn’t have given you the blindfold,” says Four.

“Thought so,” he replies, but he’s not really worried.

“Ok, we’re almost there, but there are some steps here,” says Wind, and he feels them tug his arms to tell him where to go. He feels his way to the first step, and he hears Wind chuckle when he stumbles a bit.

“Hey! Don’t laugh at me, it’s your fault I can’t see!” he laughs.

“Fine, fine, there only five more.”

He walks up four and then to fifth except his foot falls through the air and he trips up. Four and Wind steady him before he can fall.

“Oh sorry, I meant there were four more.”

“You’re useless,” he complains, and he can _feel_ both of them snigger silently.

“Ok, there’s a doorframe in front of you.”

“I’m not sure I trust you guys anymore.” But he lets them lead him through it anyway. He feels the air change when they step inside what he assumes must be another house in the village. It’s warmer so it must be more intact than the one they had made camp in previously, and he can hear some rustling a little way away.

“Are we here? Can I take my blindfold off now?”

“Almost!”

They lead him through another door into what must be another room and then stop. It smells of woodsmoke and something else that’s just… comfort.

“Ok, you can take it off now!”

He does and it only takes half a second for his eyes to adjust before he takes in the sight in front of him.

They are in a room that’s a lot less rotted than the one he was previously in and a little bigger too. The ceiling is high and is swallowed into blackness past the rafters which are somehow all intact.

Hundreds of old beeswax candles line the room and a fire roars in a huge fireplace that takes up half of one of the walls, filling the room with a warm, orange light and the comforting smell of burning wood. Blankets and pillows are laid out on the floor on which his friends sit with smiles on their faces.

But the best thing about the room is the huge, floor length window on the wall adjacent to the fireplace. One of the corners is smashed and someone has hung a piece of material up to keep the heat in, but the glass that’s still unbroken has been cleaned to show the view beyond. And the view… the view is breath-taking.

He can see for miles across the plane fields where the rain blurs the horizon into a grey smudge. Rolling, slate grey clouds paint the sky in patterns with a beauty only nature could achieve, and even as he watches, a lightning bolt lights the whole scene for a split second making the silhouettes of far away trees visible for a moment so fast he could have missed it if he’d blinked.

He tears his eyes from the window and looks around at his friends who all sit with slightly nervous smiles, waiting for his reaction. He notices a deck of hand-painted playing cards in front of them, ready for a game.

“Did- did you do this for me?” he asks because even though he was the one blindfolded, he can’t quite believe it.

“We know you really miss your family, especially when it rains,” says Wind.

“And you do so much for us War, don’t think we haven’t noticed,” interjects Four.

“It was Wind, Four and Legend’s idea,” says Time with a fond smile, “They noticed you often miss your family when it’s raining and wanted to do something about it.”

“Besides,” adds Twilight, “We could all do with a break, the battles have been worse than ever recently.”

Warriors’ eyes flicker between them all, taking in their earnest expressions and he is hit by the overwhelming feeling of love and family in this little room they’ve made into a shelter from the fear and loss and exhaustion they face every day.

He may or may not blink back a couple of tears.

“I-I don’t know what to say… it reminds me of…”

“Legend told us some things you might like,” says Four, “He said the window was important.”

“Come and sit down!” says Wind, pulling him down to sit between him and Legend.

“Thank you,” he whispers to the veteran who gives him a small, sideways smile that tells him he understands how much this means to him.

“Oh! And Wild and I made us some drinks!” Hyrule says enthusiastically to which Warriors can’t help look a bit dubious.

“Don’t worry, Hyrule only collected the berries, Wild did all the cooking,” Legend assures him.

“Hey!”

“’Rule, you have many talents, but cooking isn’t one of them.”

Warriors laughs and accepts a cup of warm, dark red liquid that smells instantly familiar. He takes a sip and it’s not _quite_ right, but it’s enough to bring back a plethora of forgotten memories. A mixture of sweet spices and tart berries that warms his heart.

“Wild, this- this tastes almost exactly like how I remember.”

Wild somehow seems to know what he’s talking about and gives a chuffed smile beneath his long hair.

“I’m glad you like it because we almost lost Hyrule trying to get the berries,” chuckles Time.

“I knew exactly where I was going!”

“You were gone for two hours!” laughs Sky.

“The berry trees were far away,” Hyrule huffs in reply.

“These berries don’t grow on trees Hyrule…” says Twilight as he looks at his drink suspiciously

Wind just takes a sip from his drink and makes eye contact with Warriors from over the top of the mug in a way that makes him give a snort of laughter.

“Well, thanks everyone. Really… this means a lot.”

They smile at him and Twilight deals him a deck of cards and they play a game that Wind wins almost every round even though no one is letting him, he’s just that good, and Warriors is smiling the whole time, so much his cheeks start to ache, and here, in this house, with this family, he is home.


End file.
